Through Their Eyes
by KestralSong
Summary: Alva, a young girl living in a small village in Rethwellan near the Pelegiri Hills is left in the Forest when a plague kills her mother. It is here that she is rescued by a creature of legend and brought to live with the strange Hawkbrothers, where she finds acceptance and a life-long purpose.
1. Chapter 1

The rasping breaths of her dying mother reverberated inside Alva's skull, even as her racing heart and fevered skin warmed her hand. Alva did her best to provide comfort, even as her perception became distorted and narrowed; very soon she would be useless. Alva felt the desperation of her mother increase with each breath and noticed that her own desperation and rage rose as well. How dare her mother leave. How dare she be the last of the victims of this blighted plague. The rage kept Alva going, it was all she had to fuel her or give her hope, however twisted it may be. Once her mother died, there would be nothing left for Alva, the rest of the village would see to that.

Even now Alva could hear the men shuffling outside of her mother's door as they listened intently for the rasping breath to cease or for Alva herself to cry out in despair. Alva knew very well what they would do when the time came, she had heard it done before. They would remove her from her hut then burn it to the ground. Most of the village had been burned. She knew that no one intended to remain here, most had already fled; all that was left was the clean-up crew.

Alva also knew one more thing for absolute certain: she would not be joining them. It isn't that she didn't want to, the thought of being here on her own in a ghost town (or worse, banished into the Forest) terrified her beyond power of thought. She knew these men and they saw no need to rescue a "burden" such as herself. After all, what use did they have for a scrawny, underweight, prepubescent _blind_ child? She had no useful skills they could use, no talents to offer up, was not old enough to tempt even the most perverse as a bride nor young enough to grip their hearts as a young child might. Instead, Alva sat listening to her mother's dying rasps and feeling her racing pulse became weaker and skin burn ever hotter, all the while feeling her presence slip vainly away from her mind, leaving nothing behind but an empty void that she feared would never be filled again.

Finally, her mother stilled, the pulse ceased to beat, and Alva's mind was completely her own for the first time in all her life. Despite her promise to herself, Alva cried out in that moment of loss, as desperation overpowered rage and despair gripped her completely. No sooner had her cries left her throat than she heard the door opening and the sound of 5 men enter the room. From them she received so many different emotions –eagerness, greed, worry, joy– that her already rebelling mind broke. Her slight grasp of her environment dissolved into the harshness the men around her. She stopped resisting, stopped fighting, and let the despair consume her. Her world once that once so brightly shone through her connection to her mother was now dark, the light that colored her mind was gone. There was nothing left to live for so why should she bother trying?

Alva only vaguely registered when she was removed from the small hut that had been her home and brought out into the harsh air of late fall that was filled with the rich choking smell of burning wood. She felt no sun, if there was any to be felt, and soon found herself standing barefooted on the old, worn, half frozen path outside what was left of her home. Shortly after, she felt the heat of flames rise up in front of her, she knew that her mother's house would soon be no more. She had felt and "seen" the remains left of burned wood and the image of that as all that might me left of her life caused her feet to move on their own accord toward the flame, as if she could somehow put it out, stop it from its hungry lapping of the old fall-dry wood.

Rough hands grabbed her arms and she became as a child incensed, fighting against the restraints, sobbing, yelling, crying out with her entire being until she had no strength left within her. It was only then that she was released, collapsing onto the ground and shaking from exertion and exhaustion. That was it. The last of her world was over, everything she had ever had lived within the flames whose blazes she could not see but whose heat wrapped her body within its embrace.

Alva vaguely recognized the voices of the men as they spoke over her, some sounding unsure as they reluctantly agreed with the resounding majority. Only then did rough callous-ridden hands lift her again, only this time her body was carefully held against his as he moved her away from the heat and smell of smoke with quick, decisive steps. Alva got glimpses from him in her mind, shadows dancing deeper under the thick foliage of the forest, the undergrowth making the ground appear black and dangerous. She also felt his frustration and his sorrow, although it did not penetrate into her completely, for her mind rebelled against his, determined in its sorrow. Soon the man's quick steps became hindered by brush and foliage with no real path for him to follow, only then did Alva stir, resisting his arms and yearning back toward what she believed was the remains of her home and mother. Why couldn't she have dies with her mother? Why must she die alone here in this unforgiving place?

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, little one. We have no choice. _I_ have no choice. There is nothing left for you here. Nothing. At least the forest is quicker. At least here you might find peace." His words were not matched by his sorrow that leaked into her every pore and with that sorrow was bleak acceptance. He truly believed that he had no choice. Her death was guaranteed in his mind. To him, this was kindness. To her it was guaranteed death, just as they all intended. This close to the Pelagiris Hills there was no survival for an unprotected child. The smell of smoke might protect her for a day but no longer.

The man had found what he was looking for and lowered her to the ground, resisting her fevered attempts at clinging to him, knowing full well that the underbrush would prevent her from finding him if he got away.

"Please!" She pleaded in desperate sorrow, panic and fear clouding her mind, "Please don't leave me here! Please!"

Once more she lost him and her blind groping revealed nothing. She could hear him leaving but was unable to follow as she lay trapped and completely blind in the malicious forest that slowly filled with a choking smoke from burning huts. As Alva collapsed to the ground she cried out once more, although whether it was aloud or only in her head she was not sure, " _Please don't leave me alone!_ "


	2. Chapter 2

Erron was woken from its peaceful sleep and dreams of chasing dear through the woods by a desperate plea so riddled with sorrow that its heart ached in a way it hadn't known was possible. It was about a candlemark or so past midnight when it awoke, biting back a grief-stricken howl as it jumped out of its den and into the frigid, smoky air. _Smoky? Why would it be smoky here, there have been no fires in the forest in ages!_ Perhaps it was wrong, perhaps it had missed something. Humans. The smoke came from the edge of the forest, from the direction of the human village that Erron had often spied through its years.

Erron kept its mind occupied for several minutes as it truly finished waking. It had never been very good at waking instantly. _Why would there be smoke coming from the human village? Had a raid occurred?_ Erron admittedly knew very little of the movements and customs of the humans here, it tried not to involve itself too often with any human, save those of the Vales. After all, most of the other humans would have no trouble firing an arrow or a rock at it, believing it to be no more than a common wolf. _A common wolf indeed,_ it thought, _why, if they knew anything they would-_

Another cry of mental anguish hit it like a ram in the side, nearly bowling Erron over with its urgency. Immediately and suddenly awake, all of Erron's frivolous thoughts ceased and it was moving toward the mental cry before it had registered moving. As it ran, Erron considered the best course of action. The cry obviously came from an intelligent creature, so it wasn't an injured animal it had to worry about; which was probably good since Erron was not likely to put an animal at ease. Also, the cry had an aspect that made it appear young, despite the strength and coherency of the call. _A human,_ Erron thought suddenly, _it is a human child crying for help._

Now exactly why Erron believed so it had no idea but it knew from the moment it identified the source that it was right. Immediately Erron moved toward the smoke, noting that direction of the cry came very near the area where the village and the forest met. : _Don't worry little one, I am coming for you.:_ Erron was not sure if the child could _receive_ mindspeech as clearly as it _sent_ but it saw no reason not to do whatever it could to comfort it before it could find it. Blindly, and with a purpose, Erron ran on, trusting in its nose and ears to guide the way, converging quickly on the source of the mental cries of loss, despair, and sorrow that ripped into its heart and left it bare.

It did not take long for Erron to arrive at the edge of the Forest and look out over the burning village, and burning it was indeed. Tall flames leaped into the sky as if they were trying to escape the blaze that they themselves were a part of, smoke dancing darkly above them, wavering and rippling in the slight breeze. For one very long instant Erron was afraid that the cry came from inside the blaze and his soul mourned in despair for although the radiating sorrow, loss, and despair remained strong, emanating into it, the coherency of speech had ceased.

Faintly, almost too faint to register, Erron noticed the scent of a human, not in the blaze but within the forest itself. Erron had no sooner caught the scent then it was leaping into the dense underbrush, fighting its way through briars and over bushes. It was no silent hunter here, he leaped and bounded over the dense brush, straining its every sense to catch even the slightest glimpse of the child that it heard in its mind so clearly.

Because of the rolling blanket of smoke that was beginning to cover the forest, Erron did not find the girl until it almost tripped over her while blundering through the undergrowth. Her appearance brought Erron up short, whatever it had been expecting to find, this child was not it, although it was unmistakable that she fit the silent cry that it heard in its head. Although Erron was not the best at judging a normal human appearance, the _kyree_ knew that something was wrong here. Well, more wrong than a small child lying alone in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night. She was so thin it would be surprised if she could stand and she was garbed in only a thin, sleeved dress, nearly useless in the chill night that penetrated even the _kyree's_ thick coat. Beyond her physical appearance, the girl-child smelled of death, it coated her entire being.

The smell scared him more than anything, coming off of a child who was little more than skeleton, it was only the sound of her breathing and the steady thrum of her unconscious cry for help in his mind that assured Erron that she lived. These were also what drove it into action.

Erron jumped over the last of the brush between itself and the child and began to nudge her with its paws and nose, trying to rouse her, tugging gently at her dress as it went. Her mind was becoming more active and her cries those of increased despair as she believed she was about to die. Instinctively, Erron sent to her, : _No, my cub, death is not here for you today._ : It then continued its efforts in rousing her from her shock and cold induced slumber.

After what felt like hours, although it was mere moments after Erron spoke to her, the girl-child began to stir, each breath deepening and her pulse becoming more robust. : _Peace, my cub, take it slow, there is no need to rush your awakening._ : Erron was quick to assure her, afraid that she might startle and injure herself in her fear of it, most village children would be afraid if they found themselves face to face with a _kyree_ , even if you did mistake it with a wolf.

Immediately upon receiving its message she became very still, freezing in place, her eyes still focused on the ground in front of her. No, that wasn't right. Erron sensed her mind extending out, taking stock of who and what it was. She wasn't looking at the ground because she couldn't see. Erron had been afraid that its form, made into shadows in the dark night, would frighten her. For the moment, this was better; her blindness gave it time to speak to her, keep her from panicking.

: _Hush, little cub, I am here to help you. I heard your cries and came to you I felt your need and will protect you,_ : Erron sent calmly into her mind. : _I am Erron of the_ kyree _, little cub. Who are you that I aide?_ :

Erron did not honestly expect her to be able to respond, it was simply distracting her as it tried to find a way to take her back to its den, which simply made her response all the more surprising, : _Alva. My name is Alva._ :


End file.
